MayhemInTheDesert
Member
The bodies of three women were found buried in the desert near the Las Vegas Wash on March 25, 1996. All three women were Asian and aged between 25 and 50. Each of the nameless women had builds described as very slender and long dark hair – though one of the younger victims had several strands of gray hair. Investigators also discovered various articles of clothing – including some in children’s sizes – stuffed into the oversize garbage bags near the gravesite.
The disposal site was classified as a “beehive grave” covered with about a foot of dirt that at first glance appeared to be just another one of the countless rolling mounds dotting the desert landscape. For two of the Jane Does, the cause of death was determined to be strangulation. The other woman died of suffocation coupled with a blunt force injury to her head. And though the three women were all found either nude or partially clothed, none of the bodies evidenced signs of sexual assault.
The police ran the fingerprints for the three victims through national databases, but no records were found. No fingerprint matches meant no arrests, no passports, and no drivers licenses for any of the three unidentified women.
Besides three bodies in the desert, there was nothing investigators could find to prove the Jane Does ever existed at all. Las Vegas police worked with the LAPD Asian Gangs Unit to develop leads in the case, and one theory is that the three women had been trafficked to the United States from abroad and were then forced into prostitution in the Las Vegas area.
We can no longer locate this case on NamUs and heard that a conviction related to this case happened in California, though we can not locate any info online supporting this. Curious if anyone knows where we can find more info or if they've heard about a conviction related to this case.
Article from Las Vegas crime author on the case:
Triple Murder Mystery With Little Evidence
Article from Las Vegas Sun mentioning case:
https://lasvegassun.com/news/1996/may/22/desert-bodies-discovered-since-january/
Archived link to Clark County Coroner site for one of the Jane Does:
Clark County Coroner Index
The disposal site was classified as a “beehive grave” covered with about a foot of dirt that at first glance appeared to be just another one of the countless rolling mounds dotting the desert landscape. For two of the Jane Does, the cause of death was determined to be strangulation. The other woman died of suffocation coupled with a blunt force injury to her head. And though the three women were all found either nude or partially clothed, none of the bodies evidenced signs of sexual assault.
The police ran the fingerprints for the three victims through national databases, but no records were found. No fingerprint matches meant no arrests, no passports, and no drivers licenses for any of the three unidentified women.
Besides three bodies in the desert, there was nothing investigators could find to prove the Jane Does ever existed at all. Las Vegas police worked with the LAPD Asian Gangs Unit to develop leads in the case, and one theory is that the three women had been trafficked to the United States from abroad and were then forced into prostitution in the Las Vegas area.
We can no longer locate this case on NamUs and heard that a conviction related to this case happened in California, though we can not locate any info online supporting this. Curious if anyone knows where we can find more info or if they've heard about a conviction related to this case.
Article from Las Vegas crime author on the case:
Triple Murder Mystery With Little Evidence
Article from Las Vegas Sun mentioning case:
https://lasvegassun.com/news/1996/may/22/desert-bodies-discovered-since-january/
Archived link to Clark County Coroner site for one of the Jane Does:
Clark County Coroner Index
